NEW STRATEGIES AT THE NSA 2018 TRADE SHOW

By Hernando Ramirez-Santos, Abasto Magazine“Is this for real?” Daniel Suriel from America’s Food Basket asked Anthony Peña, the Director of the annual trade show, excitedly and still incredulous after having been told over the phone that he had been the winner of the raffle of a zero-mile Toyota Yaris car at the end of a successful business day at the NSA 2018 show in New York.

The event, which took place Wednesday, August 29 in the event center of the World Resorts Casino in New York, brought together hundreds of suppliers and buyers of food products and various household items, where according to the organizers, negotiations were close to $10 million in six hours of the trade show.

“We are celebrating the food show’s 8th year serving all this northeast area of the country with good merchandise and good prices so that small supermarkets and wineries and in general all food-related industries have the opportunity to interact and do business,” said Rudy Fuertes, president of the association, who ends this year as head of the NSA.

Fuertes emphasized that they are fortunate to have young leaders like Anthony Peña in this association for supermarkets, who are full of energy to promote the NSA’s work of the NSA to support Hispanic grocery stores.Peña told Abasto that more than 200 companies participated in the trade show, where many of them presented new products in search of being sold in stores. “As you know, New York is one of the most difficult markets and a show like this allows independent stores to conduct their business and make sure they are successful in the neighborhoods where they serve,” Peña explained.

Among those that that visited the trade show was the Dominican Republic consul, Carlos Castillo, who was accompanied by Marius De León, executive director of the Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic, reaffirming the profound relationship that the Caribbean country has with the large population of Dominican entrepreneurs in the New York area, who are mostly owners or investors of independent supermarkets.

Likewise, the Assemblywoman for the District 39 of New York, Ari Espinal, a young politician born and raised in Corona, NY to Dominican parents, was present at the commercial show of the NSA 2018. Espinal reiterated her support for independent supermarkets and seeks to be reelected in the September 13 elections to continue being a Hispanic voice in the state Assembly that looks after the interests of the Latino community and businesses.

ASSEMBLYWOMAN ARI ESPINAL PRESENT AT THE TRADE SHOW TO LOOK AFTER LATINO COMMUNITY

“With
only two months in the position, I brought $217,000 in funds for my
district and I submitted two bills because I believe in my community and
being born and raised in Corona, I know where resources are needed and
this is important to me,” Espinal told Abasto.

NSA directives
expect that voices such as that of Assemblywoman Espinal will help
improve the regulations that offer incentives to this industry of
independent supermarkets, since they have suffered a serious economic
impact due to the state law that increased the minimum wage to $15 per
hour.

These situations have forced stores to face difficult times
with new strategies so that their businesses do not go under, as
explained by José Geraldo, who was recently named executive director of the NSA.

“This
year, the idea was to bring new companies to the show and open a
different market. We must continue to grow and expand our horizons in
this growing market, such as the Latin market,” said Geraldo.

He
added that they brought companies directly from several Latin American
countries for this trade show and created an international pavilion
where the companies that look for distributors have the opportunity “to create business with business, which we hadn’t done before because we had only focused on the detail,” said Geraldo.

Like every year, the National Supermarket Association
trade show also presented various entertainment spaces with live music,
a salsa dancing show, the raffle of the car won by Daniel Suriel and
the raffle of a ticket to travel to Puerto Rico, sponsored by Rico Rice from Pan American Grain, which was won by Elvis Díaz.

Porky Products was also recognized as the Company of the Year and Jhonny Ureña of C-Town Supermarket was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year.

NATIONAL SUPERMARKET ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES THE SELECTION OF JOSE GERALDO AS THEIR NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jose Geraldo has been appointed executive director of the National Supermarket Association (NSA), an association that represents owners of approximately 400 independent supermarkets in the New York metro area and other cities throughout the East Coast, it was announced by the President of the Board Rudy Fuertes.

In making the announcement, Rudy Fuertes noted: I am confident that with Jose’s strong leadership skills, his corporate experience and entrepreneurial outlook, he will be a great asset in assisting the NSA in strengthening our member’s position as productive businesses in the communities we serve” he added.

“Being Chosen to be the Executive Director of NSA is truly an honor for me. I have been a fan of NSA since its inception and I can’t think of more exciting times to be part of this prestigious organization. Given the growth of the ethnic population in the US and the great opportunity its represents to our Independent stores in the urban markets". Said Mr. Geraldo

Founded in 1989 by Hispanic entrepreneurs, the association has grown dramatically in the last decades and currently provides its members hands on representation in both the private and public sectors and advocates issues that impact the entire supermarket industry. It also provides outreach services to corporations that want to re-invest in the ever growing Hispanic market.

In the last decade, the NSA Scholarship Foundation has distributed over two million dollars in educational scholarships to deserving students in the underprivileged neighborhoods served by many of our members.

GOVERNOR CUOMO DEPARTS FROM NEW YORK TO PUERTO RICO TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY GOODS AND SERVICES AT OFFICIAL REQUEST OF GOVERNOR RICARDO ROSSELLÓ

Friday, September 22, 2017

Governor Cuomo Making Available More Than 34,000 Bottles of Water, 9,600 Ready to Eat Meals, 3,000 Canned Goods, 500 Flashlights, 1,400 Cots, 1,400 Pillows, 1,400 Blankets and 10 Generators. Governor Cuomo Traveling on Donated JetBlue Aircraft to Bring Supplies on First Flight to Depart for San Juan Since Hurricane Maria. NYPA Engineers, Translators, Supervisors and DEC Drones and Drone Pilots Sent to Assist with Reconstruction of Power Grid. 60 New York National Guard, Four Black Hawk Helicopters and 50 State Police on Standby

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and a delegation of administration officials departed this morning for Puerto Rico to deliver emergency supplies, help the community repair its devastated power structure, and assist in relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The trip follows Governor Ricardo Rosselló's official governor to governor request through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact for mutual aid. In response to the request, Governor Cuomo immediately made available more than 34,000 bottles of water, 9,600 ready to eat meals, 3,000 canned goods, 500 flashlights, 1,400 cots, 1,400 blankets, 1,400 pillows and 10 10kw generators. Additionally, Governor Cuomo has announced that 60 members of the New York Army National Guard, four Black Hawk helicopters and 50 State Police are on standby. This flight, on aircraft donated by JetBlue, is the first flight to depart for San Juan since Hurricane Maria.

"Puerto Rico is part of the New York family, and we stand with our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters as they begin to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Maria," Governor Cuomo said. "We have assembled top emergency response experts to support Puerto Rico and help repair its devastated power structure, and we are providing supplies and any additional assistance we can to support the island as they recover from this unprecedented natural disaster."

Governor Ricardo Rosselló said, "In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, I have made an official Governor to Governor request that Governor Cuomo and the State of New York provide essential goods, services, and expertise to help us assess the devastation and develop a plan for recovery. Puerto Rico has endured an horrific ordeal and we are lucky to have a friend like Governor Cuomo and New York State who we share a close bond and deep history with. I want to thank the Governor for accepting my invitation to travel to Puerto Rico, and the people of New York for always standing by our side in difficult times and we appreciate the support as we begin the rebuilding process."

Robin Hayes, president and CEO, JetBlue, said, "We are honored to support this relief flight, the first of many to come, as the people of Puerto Rico begin to recover from this terrible event. Our hearts go out to all those impacted. We thank Gov. Cuomo for his leadership in the recovery efforts, and the National Guard for their on-the-ground support of the people of Puerto Rico. As the largest airline in Puerto Rico, we are in a unique position to work with them to support our crewmembers, customers and communities across the island."

"We commend Governor Cuomo's leadership to quickly organize resources and personnel to help Puerto Rico rebuild," said Francis McGorry, President, Tri-State Metro Operating Unit, Coca-Cola Refreshments. "Coca-Cola always stands ready to help when people are in need. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the devastation from Hurricane Maria."

Prior to departing, Governor Cuomo ordered assets from the New York State stockpiles to be ready for deployment and gathered a coalition of organizations to provide a number of assets and essential resources and at the request of Governor Rosselló, including: